Saturday, August 04, 2007

Rustic Rainbow Experiment

For a very long time now I have been "dying" to try "dyeing". The opportunity arose last Thursday when I thought I would be alone all day. My two youngest boys and my husband were driving to New York to see a Yankee game. Then the last minute my youngest bailed and didn't want to go. He's really not a baseball fan like my middle son. We figured it was better for him to stay with me rather than have him whining all day...a very long day.

I still did my dye experiment. He was a little bit interested, so that was nice and he did help me now and then when I needed an extra pair of hands. I thought I would experiment with all the colors of kool-aid I could find and I also tried just the plain old ordinary food colors. Here's the hand painted skein all laid out with the various colors:
Sure was a rather messy job. I really don't have the necessary equipment and I think I was a little over zealous trying all those colors. Picking up the skein to try and put it in a pyrex glass dish was not too successful. Excess dye went every where and then to find out the dish wouldn't fit into my microwave! I resorted to using my largest corning ware casserole. I kept my fingers crossed that the colors wouldn't run together:
Then I microwaved it and set it on the counter to cool. I read that it needs to be completely cooled before rinsing in order for the dye to adhere.

Then the call came. My 90 year old father activated his Lifeline button. We dropped everything and drove fast over to Dad's apartment. The last two times this had happened...it was false alarms. I hoped and prayed this was the case once again. This time he was in trouble. He was ok thank goodness, but he had fallen in the bathroom and couldn't get up. It was such a good thing that my youngest didn't go to New York for he was there to help me get Grampa up. No broken bones, but he was bruised and bleeding from a blow to back of his neck behind his ear. He hit the corner of the vanity. To make a long story short...we spent the whole afternoon in the ER. Because he had a head injury they did a CAT scan and various other tests, but everything came back fine and he didn't even need any stitches, which I had thought he might need. Thankfully everything turned out fine and he was ok.

Now for the rest of the story...the yarn which was very hot when we left now had completely cooled off. I rinsed it and it looked fine...hung it to dry and then today I wound it into a ball:
I don't have a ball winder, but I used my trusty M&M mini's container and wound a center pull ball. Rustic rainbow is what I am calling this yarn. I won't tell you what my boys are calling it ;) Hand painting is ok. I'm really not wild about dyeing in general. A little too messy for me. Maybe if I had only used a couple of colors I would have been happier, but I just had to see what all the colors would look like. I'm not saying I'll never dye again, but I really think this is one job that should be left to the experts!

22 comments:

  1. glad to hear your dad is okay. I'm also glad your youngest ended up staying home with you too. your hand-dyed looks cool! I've been meaning to try myself but I have less tools than you do!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. first off, glad to hear your dad is ok. i'm sure that is a horrible feeling. and then kudos to you for trying your hand and dyeing, i think all the colors turned out so fun, what will you make? and the M&M container trick.. I learned something new!

    ReplyDelete
  3. i'm so glad that your dad is ok... we've had similar scares with my grandpa, so i know how frightening that can be.

    your yarn looks great! i've done some dyeing myself, but only with a single color. it was pretty easy when i did it, so you did probably complicate things when you added lots of colors! : )

    how do you use the m&m container to wind the ball of yarn? does it just have a hole in the middle of the ball?

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm glad your dad is O.K.!
    I rather like your wound ball, it looks nice and fresh, but I agree, I'm not wild about dyeing as well. I never let my yarn cool off. I take it out of the microwave and as hot as it is I let hot water rin over it. It never washed out the color because of that.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I too am glad to hear your father is alright. Thank goodness for the technology that he can push a button and you'll come running.

    I really love your dye job! It will be fun to see what you get when you knit with it! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh my, what a day! I'm glad your dad is okay. Being in the emerg room for hours like that is no fun though.

    I've never tried dyeing yarn - it sounds like it could be fun but also a big mess. But I think your wound ball looks nice!

    ReplyDelete
  7. ooooo so pretty! It's fun to do. I've found that I do better when I stick to maybe 3 analogous colors. Great center pull ball with the M&M container... I have a winder but lately I've been winding by hand... go figure!

    I didn't read the whole entry, but best wishes to your dad... hope things stay well for him... My pop has had a run lately as well... but almost 86... gotta expect it I guess. ... I'll read more about the dying process... maybe I can throw you some tips ?!?

    ReplyDelete
  8. can't wait to see what you made out of that yarn!

    so glad that your dad is ok - that's scary!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Glad to hear your dad is ok... That is not a fun call to get! I love the colors that tried and can't wait to see what you knit! Whatever it is, I'm sure it will always remind you of that day. Knit something happy :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Those Lifeline things are sure handy. Glad you were there to save the day!

    Can't wait to see what you knit. Those colors are great.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm so glad to hear that your dad is doing better. Elderly parents are wonderful to have around, but there's always a high potential for disaster, lol!

    Glad you were able to try your dye experiment. I haven't yet done it, but I've been wanting to do it, too. I think I'll take your advice and only try a few colors. I like your skein, though!

    ReplyDelete
  12. "All things work together for good...." I'm so glad your dad is okay, and you were able to help when the lifeline call came. :)

    Dyeing yarn is a such an interesting project, and I loved reading about your experience with it. Can't wait to see what the yarn looks like knitted up. Thank you so much for sharing it with us. Makes me want to get out the Kool-aid. :))

    ReplyDelete
  13. The ball is beautiful! But I agree it sure looks like a lot of work! Glad your dad is OK!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'm glad your dad is ok - how scary! Your hand-dyed looks great - very nice! I'm with you though - I've tried dyeing a couple of times, and I think I prefer to let other people do it.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Those life line emergency buttons are a great invention! I'm so glad your emergency did not turn out to be too serious.

    The yarn looks great. Some day I'd like to try dying wool, but I'm not ready to think about the whats and hows yet. It is several years away.

    hmmm, I don't have a ball winder either, thanks for posting your trick.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Glad your Dad is OK. That's great he's got the lifeline so he could let you know! As to your yarn - it looks great and I'm so impressed how you wound it. I can't wait to see what you make. I've been toying with the idea of dyeing but I think you've convinced me otherwise!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Happy to know your Dad is well! LOVE the Hand dyed yarn! Was it Koolaid? the colors are so vibrant!
    Try Wiltens dye for cake icing too!
    Now I want to go dye a little! I use my pyrex and microwave too!

    ReplyDelete
  18. What a scary time for your dad. You know how much I can relate - I will keep you in my prayers. Is your dad shaken up? We don't have Lifeline for my dad - but if he stays another winter in his home, it is a must.

    If I didn't like you so very much -I would be very envious of your knitting that beautiful fish blanket. Wow - a masterpiece! And now you are yarn dyeing. As I said... if I didn't like you so much.... :)

    Be well, and know that I am keeping you in thought and prayer.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Glad your Dad is okay. Your dyeing experiment went well I would say. I love looking at rainbow colored yarn so I think it looks marvelous. Especially for your first time dyeing.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I am so glad to hear that your dad is ok. How scary!

    I love your yarn. It's absolutely beautiful, even though it may have been a mess.

    ReplyDelete
  21. girlfriend, that stuff is gawgeous! You did good. Don't stop now, I see an etsey shop in your future!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Very glad to hear you dad is alright. What a scare that must've been for you! Your handdyed yarn looks great; such fun colors!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you all for your comments! I really appreciate them. I usually don't follow up with an email, but if you do have a question please make sure you include a way to reach you within your comment so I may answer your question. Thanks and happy knitting :)

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.